“Oh, God, she’s such a capable woman, but it’s hard for her to come out of a co-operative government into this rough-and-tumble. She had a question in the House yesterday, or two days ago, that planked. I really hope she never gets anything hot.”

Having spent the previous four years inside Nunavut’s most popular cage-fight venue, better known as the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut, Leona ought to be used to this by now.

In northern Canada’s chaotic political culture, Ciceronian orators do not thrive, but knife-in-the-back predators grow by the dozen. Some of the dirtiest elections you’ll ever see have occurred within Nunavut communities.

The biggest difference between Nunavut and Ottawa is that in Nunavut, our hypocritical politicians keep their skulduggery below the surface, then put on a show of unity when in public.